Barnabas

Transcript

I I want to speak tonight about Barnabas x and what prompted me to really delve x into this subject was listening to my x friend Chris sales Sandy and i as you x know were out in California uh in x February and it was then that we went to x the Palm Springs Bible school you're x looking for a nice warm weather Bible x School Palm Springs is usually it wasn't x so warm this year but it's a great uh x wintertime Bible school so recommend it x so while we were there Chris spoke on x the friends and enemies of Paul x and of course one of Paul's friends was x uh Barnabas x and that's really uh what I would like x to focus on this evening and in x particular we're going to talk about x barnabas's uh you know his moniker uh x his name really his real name was not x Barnabas Barnabas is a nickname x and it means son of encouragement x and uh I don't know how many of you have x nicknames and we probably all remember x those awkward kids from high school who x would like craft a nickname for x themselves you know I want you to call x me studly or you know some stupid thing x like that right well this this man x was was given a nickname the son x of encouragement and I just think that x you know man wouldn't that be a great x name for for you or for me to carry you x know wouldn't it be great for people to x think back on our lives and say you know x what I think about Barnabas he was like x a real encourager x um and so think about what it might be x in your own life that you'd want to have x as your moniker as your nickname so for x this man Barnabas uh he you know this x guy his nickname was the son of x encouragement and our class tonight x we'll talk a little bit about why I x think it was likely that he was x nicknamed this way x so we're going to start really by x rolling back in time and looking x specifically at the growth of that first x Ecclesia in Jerusalem and we're going to x do that by going to Acts chapter 2. x and here in Acts chapter 2 we are coming x to this time in history after the x Ascension of our Lord Jesus to Heaven x he's been raised from the dead he spent x 40 days on the Earth showing himself to x the to the many individuals there in the x city they saw this man who had been x publicly executed on a Roman cross alive x again x and because of this and because of the x speeches of of Peter and because of the x acts of the Holy Spirit x these men and women these these people x from that period in time began to accept x the gospel message and the church the x Ecclesia began to grow and we read about x this uh in Acts chapter 2 and I'd like x to just look at sort of the end of this x chapter and we'll start in the 41st x verse which is where we come to sort of x this conclusion after Peter gives this x uh this heartfelt talk to the men of x Israel and they they look at each other x after Peter speaks and they say you know x what should we do and he says repent and x be baptized and then we come down to x verse 41 and it says and I'm going to x read verse 41 through the end of the x chapter so this is Acts 2 41. x um it says those who accepted his x message Peter's message were baptized x and about 3 000 were added to their x number that day x and says they devoted themselves to the x apostles teaching to the fellowship to x the breaking of bread and to prayer x everyone was filled with awe and Many x Wonders and miraculous signs were done x by the apostles x all the Believers were together x and had everything in common x selling their possessions and goods they x gave to anyone as he had need x every day they continued to meet x together in the temple courts they broke x bread in their homes they ate together x with glad and sincere Hearts praising x God and enjoying the favor of all the x people x and the Lord added to their number daily x those x who were being saved x and so what we what we're reading about x here brothers and sisters is the birth x of that first Ecclesia in Jerusalem x we're seeing that the people there the x brother you think about the the x atmosphere the community in atmosphere x in that place the love that they had for x one another the care they showed to one x another it was that they had everything x in common not just like they were of one x mind but they were sharing their x possessions to those that had need and x it was through this love through the x working of the Holy Spirit through this x community that they began to bring more x and more people into the faith and daily x more and more were being saved x but you'll notice something x right there at the end of the chapter it x talks about how during this period of x time there was this period of Peace x verse 7 47 they were praising God x and enjoying the favor x of all the people x but this you know this Camelot period if x you will didn't last forever x and as we turn the page we find that all x of a sudden the favor of all the people x is no longer there x and it and at first there are these x Greek Jews who began to oppose the x Christians x and that's what we read about in Acts x chapter 4. x so we'll read the first four verses here x again trying to get a flavor for what x this early occlesia was like x Acts chapter 4 it says the priests and x the captain of the temple guard and the x Sadducees came up to Peter and John x these are the apostles that were you x know doing that original preaching x teaching this is these are the ones from x through whom these people learned the x truth x they came up to Peter and John while x they were speaking to the people and x they were greatly disturbed because the x apostles were teaching the people x and proclaiming in Jesus x the resurrection of the Dead x so they began talking about how this man x who the Jews had crucified you know x through the Roman court system if you x will x this man who had been crucified was x raised from the dead x and it says They seized Peter and John x and they put him in jail until the next x day x so I mean this is all very familiar to x us but when we come to the end of x chapter four x we get even more details about how these x early brothers and sisters responded x in such a difficult time what was their x response to this x travail x to use Kara's word uh that they were x going through and we see it at the end x of the chapter it says it's a spirit of x generosity we see uh the spirit of love x and it's described and it's it's x describing this sort of giving and x loving spirit and it's at this point in x time that we are introduced x to the man nicknamed Barnabas so let's x just take a look at this and we'll pick x it up again at the end of chapter 4 x verse 32. x so we see very similar language here to x what we saw at the end of chapter two x where they had they shared all things in x common here in chapter 4 verse 32 it x says all the Believers were x one in heart and mind x no one claimed that any of his x possessions was his own x but they shared everything they had x with great power the apostles continued x to testify to the resurrection of the x Lord x and much grace was given upon was upon x them all x there were no needy persons among them x four from time to time those who owned x lands or houses sold them brought the x money from the sale and put it at the x apostles feet and it was distributed to x everyone or to anyone as he had need x and now with this sort of preamble were x introduced to the man John or Joseph x rather the levite from Cyprus x verse 36. x Joseph A levite from Cyprus whom the x apostles called Barnabas x which means son of encouragement x sold a field he owned and brought the x money x and put it at the apostles feet x so x you know we think about this man and we x see the spirit of love and generosity x that he had he was an early leader he x was an early Elder in the Ecclesia the x apostles nicknamed him the son of x encouragement due in part to his x financial giving x but we're also going to see that the x giving that Barnabas you know the x generosity that Barnabas exhibited x wasn't only Financial in nature x that he gave much more than just the x financial means that he had x he also gave spiritually x so x the first thing as I say is we see x Barnabas this this early Elder early x leader in the church uh taking this x position in part because of his x financial giving x now I think I don't know if Jim x Sullivan's on tonight but I remember Jim x Sullivan I think it was Jim x um x giving giving a class x about the possibility of the Rich Young x Ruler back in Luke who came to Jesus x asking what must I do to be saved and x Jesus gives him this you know this the x he says you know the one thing you lack x sell your possessions and give to the x poor and Jim in his class uh x demonstrated through a variety of means x that it's possible that this Rich Young x Ruler was none other than Joseph the x levite from Cyprus x otherwise known as Barnabas x so Barnabas now sells a piece of land he x gives it to the brothers and sisters who x are in need and there begins his role as x a leader in the early church x so the next thing when we think about x Barnabas as a man x um we see that as he began this x relationship with the brothers and x sisters in the Jerusalem Ecclesia we see x the trust that they placed in his x spiritual Acumen if you will x they trusted Barnabas to handle x difficult spiritual situations x and what I'd like to do is I'd like to x have you turn with me now to Acts x chapter 11. x and here in Acts chapter 11 we read x about another Ecclesia this is an x Ecclesia that's an Antioch x a good distance from Jerusalem x but there begins to be this spiritual x controversy in Antioch x and the brothers and sisters in the x Jerusalem Ecclesia look around and they x say who can help us evaluate what's x going on with our worldwide community x who can help us understand what's x happening and and can give us a synopsis x as to whether this is a a spiritual x problem or not x and so that's what we read about in Acts x chapter 11. x so I'm going to uh uh ask you to turn x with me now to verse 19 acts 11 verse x 19. x it says now those who had been scattered x by the persecution in connection with x Stephen so Stephen has been stoned x and it talks about how I think the verse x begins and there arose a great x persecution x and this persecution caused the the x brothers and sisters that formed this x nucleus of ecclesias you know of the x occlusion in Jerusalem it caused them to x spread out and it was through this x spreading out from Jerusalem that the x gospel message began to grow not just in x one Center in Israel but now throughout x the whole known world x and it says that in verse 19 that those x who had been scattered by the x persecution and connection with Stephen x traveled as far as Venetia x Cyprus and Antioch so we're going to be x talking specifically now about what was x happening in Antioch x it says in verse 20 some of them x men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to x Antioch and began to speak to Greeks x also x so just pause here x until this point in time x the preaching of the Gospel x was directed to x Jews x those who were in a covenant x relationship with God x through their circumcision x who were you know descendants of Abraham x and all of a sudden x the brothers and sisters in Antioch x began preaching and speaking the good x news of Jesus and the coming Kingdom to x non-jews to Greeks x they were telling them the good news x about the Lord Jesus x verse 21 we're in Acts 11. verse 21 the x Lord's hand was with them and a great x number of the people believed and turned x to the Lord x news of this x came down from Antioch and it reached x the church at Jerusalem x and they sent Barnabas to Antioch x and so I think this gives us evidence as x to the you know the position of x leadership or trust or spiritual x um maturity x that the Ecclesia in Jerusalem had about x Barnabas when they heard about this x controversy in Antioch and they needed x someone to evaluate if they looked x around and they say let's choose x Barnabas we trust him x and so they sent Barnabas to Antioch x verse 23 when he arrived and saw the x evidence of the grace of God x he was glad and encouraged them all to x remain true to the Lord with all their x hearts x so the evidence that x Barnabas saw when he went to Antioch was x that there were non-jews who had x received the Holy Spirit x and therefore he concluded that if God x was allowing the Holy Spirit gifts to be x received by non-jews x then certainly in God's eyes it was x appropriate that the good news of Jesus x could be shared not just with Jews but x with Greeks too x and so this was where this would be the x report that Barnabas would bring back to x the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem x but look at this parenthetical note in x verse 24. x speaking of Barnabas the the record says x he was x a good man x full of the Holy Spirit and faith and a x great number of people x were brought to the Lord x so while Barnabas was there he himself x it appears began to continue the the x preaching that those other men had first x done x and there in Antioch Barnabas began a x missionary trip and he's continuing to x teach the message of Jesus and the good x news of the coming Kingdom x verse 25 says then Barnabas went to x Tarsus x to look for Saul so we're going to pause x there because we're going to come back x to this when we talk about this man son x of encouragement and and the the role of x a mentor that he played in the lives of x others including the Apostle Paul x so what we've done is we've looked at x really two things so far about the man x Barnabas the first was that early on as x the church was growing Barnabas was x right there in the formative stages of x the Ecclesia and it was through x barnabas's financial gift that brothers x and sisters who were in need received x Financial sustenance x secondly we saw that the brothers and x sisters in the Ecclesia there that x numbered 5 000 or more already looked to x Barnabas as not only a leader but one x who had spiritual maturity enough that x he could have valued a a controversial x subject at another Ecclesia and bring a x report back the third thing that we're x going to see throughout the acts is that x Barnabas seems to be given a position of x prominence among other Elders in that x early equation and what I mean by that x is that his name when when the record x the Bible record starts to list brothers x and sisters or Elders within the x Ecclesia x barnabas's name appears very early on in x these lists oftentimes the first name so x I'll give you a couple of examples so x let's just uh Turn the Page over to Acts x chapter 13. x and uh Acts chapter 13 it says in the x Church of Antioch there were Prophets x and teachers and then it goes and names x them in the first name that you see is x Barnabas followed by Simeon called Niger x Lucius of Cyrene Manan you know and a x couple of other names x and the point here is that it's Barnabas x whose name appears first and some you x know some conject that this means that x he had a position of prominence over x others we see it again in the next x chapter chapter 14 where uh early on in x the ministry of Barnabas and Paul or we x think of Paul's first missionary journey x it was really a missionary journey of x Barnabas first and Paul his helper x so Acts chapter 13 verse 13 uh from x pathos Paul and His companion sailed to x perga and pamphilia where John left them x to return to Jerusalem am I in the right x chapter wrong chapter chapter 14 verse x 13. x um x the priest of Zeus whose Temple was x outside the city brought x bulls and wreaths to the city Gates x because he and the crowd wanted to offer x sacrifices to them but when the apostles x Barnabas and Paul and this is the first x of many examples where that order is x used Barnabas and Paul we see it in x chapter 14 we see it in chapter 15 verse x 12. we see it in chapter 15 verses 25 x and 26 where it's Barnabas and Paul only x later on in the second Ministry in the x second missionary journey the third x missionary journey you see it start to x switch where it's now referring to Paul x and Barnabas not Barnabas and Paul kind x of an interesting thing x so I bring that all up because I think x that um x uh it gives us an idea as to the x character of the man the position he x held within the early Ecclesia and the x views that the brothers and sisters had x towards him they loved him he was an x encourager he was one who built up x rather than tore down and I think that's x a great example for all of us x yeah Steve yeah I have a I I have a uh a x comment and that is that uh x the two things that you brought out and x that is that in the time when all of the x brothers and sisters were together as x one x yeah you might say in a socialistic x environment x okay x they were led by the Holy Spirit and I x think that is critical in the thinking x uh as it was in the whole activity of x Barnabas he was led by the Holy Spirit x yeah so it's in today's society where x there's such a debate between capitalism x and socialism uh pros and cons of each x the reason that this environment was so x successful was because it was led by the x Holy Spirit not when you say this x environment the reason the socialistic x uh environment in the early Ecclesia was x successful yes it was led by the Holy x Spirit okay yeah yeah x yikes x Chris yeah I just wanted to tackle that x was your dad I believe that was that was x Bob yeah yeah so yeah for example the x pilgrims tried socialism I I don't know x if anyone ever got uh the history of x that and it failed terribly okay uh when x they first arrived and it did not they x tried to have all things in common and x uh they nearly stopped the death you x know so okay yeah so I think that I x think this is a a good subject it's not x one that I plan to really address much x in tonight's class but of course the you x know the challenge was Socialism or x communism or really any of Mankind's uh x you know governmental policies is that x the heart of man is deceitful and uh it x falls apart x and so I think the the best form of x government is that one where we have a x righteous King and uh we can look x forward to that day and in the meantime x we we struggle with other forms of x government x um but to your point dad early on I x think the socialistic approach did make x sense because they were led by the Holy x Spirit x um sometimes we're going to see that x even the Holy Spirit Direction caused x Apostles to make maybe bad decisions I x maybe didn't cause them it didn't x prevent them necessarily from making bad x decisions so we can go we can go at that x but uh let's continue on our discussion x about Barnabas rather than uh socialism x versus capitalism if that's okay x um when we think about mentorship now x we've got this man this this Joseph the x levite who is an encourager he's a x builder he is one who builds up and x encourages as I say as opposed to x tearing down and as we read carefully x throughout the Book of Acts we're going x to see I think just how instrumental x Barnabas was in mentoring others to x become disciples and eventually x Elders within the Ecclesia Barnabas was x a man who was a giver x not only financially but spiritually x and when we think of mentorship I want x you to now bring your mind back x to those days when Jesus was teaching x his disciples x and if there was ever a mentor that one x would seek to have in their life x it would be our lord Jesus x prior to the to Jesus mentoring his x disciples rabbis in Israel used to x Mentor in a very different way they x mentored through formal schools today we x see churches Mentor through seminaries x and and you know programs x and in Jesus day the rabbis would have x schools like gamalia and he would enroll x students who would study at his feet and x they would learn by wrote the messages x of the Torah x and the 612 Commandments and and they x would have to memorize these things x but when Jesus came on the scene x his role as a rabbi his role as a x spiritual Mentor was different x Jesus mentored by having a personal x relationship he had personal involvement x in the lives of those he called x so the first thing we're going to see x Jesus do as a mentor is he's going to x call x his followers to him Jesus says come x follow me x and then the way he mentored them was be x by becoming involved in their lives x so that they could see him on a x day-to-day basis and see how Jesus x interacted with others in the course of x normal human life experiences x and so that's the sort of mentor that I x think we would all love to have x as opposed to you know what was it that x Nate called the the teacher who stands x on the stage you know the sage on the x straight this but maybe it was rich the x name it's not the sage on the stage it's x uh Jesus was the guide on the side he x was the one that was able to put his arm x around the mentee and sort of lead him x and instruct him and guide him x and I think Barnabas picked up on that x and we're going to see how like Jesus x Barnabas mentored that same way x so think now about you know Chris you x had talked about how x Paul doesn't really get his name Paul x until his first missionary journey he's x referred to as Saul right x and we know through the scripture that x Saul was called to be an apostle by x Jesus himself x Paul says that directly you know we had x talked about Galatians chapter one so x I'll just flip over to Galatians and and x just read that so we can get it from x Paul to Paul himself Galatians chapter 1 x verse 11 Paul writes and he says I want x you to know brethren x that the gospel I preached is not x something that man made up I did not x receive it from any man nor was I taught x it rather I received it by Revelation x from Jesus Christ x so Paul is called to be an apostle by x Jesus x but I want you now to put yourselves in x his shoes x put yourselves in the mindset of this x man who had just spent x you know months if not years of his life x devoted x to hunting x and jailing x and sometimes killing x the early followers of Jesus x put yourselves in the mind of this man x who's now been called to be an apostle x by Jesus x but who carries with him the guilt x of knowing that he is in his own words x the chiefest of all sinners x how does one x now change in such a way x that they would have the confidence x to enter a community in which you were x the chiefest of persecutors x how is it that you could develop the the x mindset that would say yeah x although I hunted and killed many of the x the family members of these brothers and x sisters I desire to be a teacher x I desire to share the good news of the x Gospel of Jesus Christ in the coming x Kingdom like what would it be what would x it take for you to make that switch in x your mind to say yeah I'm the guy I x should be able to go and preach the good x news x so even though Jesus appeared to him he x still carried the weight of what he had x done to these people in his heart x and I think x that it was through Barnabas x that Paul was able to get over that x Barnabas sought out Paul x and mentored Paul and sponsored Paul and x built Paul up to the point where he x could not only see himself x as an elder in the Ecclesia but he could x and was x a great proclaimer of the truth x and I think it was because partly x because of Barnabas x um Acts chapter 9 let's go there x this is just a quick comment on that x yeah but you know you you get you know x you mentioned that you know Paul would x have killed some of their family members x yeah and yet they had to accept him as x well not only did he have to enter in x and be confident but they had to say I'm x not accepting this guy let's get him x not only I don't talk about Christ but x let's let's you know exact revenge on x this guy right yeah x and it was like Hey Christ taught me x yeah he accepted me now you have you x know you kind of have to do the same you x know but yeah x Steve Court yes x um also uh wasn't it uh x who was the x um brother who went and went to Saul and x healed his eyes x and didn't God say to him x I will show him he has to uh suffer many x things for my name's sake and so on so x yeah I'm just wondering if you don't x call that yeah x yeah I think that's uh that's that's x really a great uh a great discussion and x this is leading up to what we'll be x looking at now in Acts chapter nine x so x Acts chapter 8 begins with this great x persecution that we had talked about x earlier uh on that day a great x persecution broke out against the church x chapter 9 begins with the words x meanwhile Saul was still breathing out x murderous threats x against the Lord's disciples x let those words sink in x you know have you ever felt afraid x I mean these brothers and sisters were x fearful these weren't empty threats x these were x murderous threats x as Butch says you know there were some x of these family members who had likely x been murdered directly as a result of x what Saul had done x Saul hunted them down x so x just I mean x imagine what it was like so Steve Steve x was asking about uh x uh let's go to chapter 10 uh chapter 9 x verse 10 in Damascus there was a x disciple named ananias x and the Lord called to him in a vision x ananias yes Lord he answered x the Lord told him go to the house of x Judas on Straight Street and ask for a x man from Tarsus named Saul for he's x praying and in a vision he's seen a man x named ananias come and place his hands x on him to restore his sight x Lord ananias answered I've heard many x reports about this man x in other words are you kidding me x why me you want me to go to this guy x and as and to Steve's Point uh verse 15 x but the Lord said to ananias go this man x is My Chosen instrument to carry my name x before the Gentiles x and their kings and before the people of x Israel I'll show you how much he must x suffer for my name so that was your x point right Steve x yeah okay so here we are in Acts chapter x 9 Saul has you know has had this vision x of the Lord Jesus has revealed himself x personally to this man he is converted x his eyesight is is restored we come now x to verse 26. x no longer is Saul out in the country x hunting down those those uh you know x breathing murderous threats and hunting x down these brothers and sisters he's x going back to the heart x of the early occlusion he's heading back x to Jerusalem x verse 26 when he came to Jerusalem x he tried to join the disciples x but they were all afraid of him x not believing that he really was a x disciple x can you Matt you know can you can you x fault them for that x verse 27. x look who's on the scene x the son of encouragement x the early Elder within the Ecclesia x but Barnabas took him x and brought him look at those verbs took x him brought him he didn't just like wait x for it to happen x Barnabas risked his reputation x you might say he risked his life and the x lives of his brothers and sisters x because he believed x in the report x that this man had been converted x Barnabas took him and brought him to the x apostles he told them how Saul on his x journey had been had seen the Lord and x that the Lord had spoken to him and how x in Damascus he had preached fearlessly x in the name of Jesus x so Barnabas was able to commend Saul x as a brother in good standing x not based only on what he thought but x his own personal experience of seeing x Saul in action in Damascus and how in x Damascus he had preached so fearlessly x verse 28 so Paul stayed with them and x moved about freely in Jerusalem x and because brothers and sisters because x Barnabas sponsored him because Barnabas x risked his reputation because Barnabas x you know wrote this letter of x commendation x Saul Now who had until this point you x know considered himself and throughout x his life did continue to consider x himself the cheapest of sinners x did have the the confidence x to go about Jerusalem freely x and To Boldly preach the gospel x and I just think that's a a great uh x lesson in mentorship x how how Barnabas sought him out and x sponsored him and entrusted him and x um soon x um however x the opposition to Paul arose again but x from a different Source it wasn't the x brothers and sisters who were opposed to x Saul x now it was the Greeks the Greek Jews x and and they wanted to kill Saul x and because of that x the the early Ecclesia there in x Jerusalem said you know how do we x protect this guy they weren't trying to x like get rid of them they were trying to x protect him x and they said the best way we can x protect him is to send them away for x safe keeping x and they sent them they sent Paul to x Tarsus and that's what we read in verse x 30. when the brothers learned of this x learned about the the plan to murder x Paul Saul x it says x um they took him down to caesarea and x sent him off to Tarsus x and then the church throughout Judea x galleons Mary enjoyed a time of peace x and it was strengthened and encouraged x by the Holy Spirit and it grew in x numbers living in the fear of the Lord x so what happens to Saul what happens to x Paul now x you know he he makes this great you know x entrance into Jerusalem he's sponsored x by Barnabas he's preaching boldly x but he's only there for like 15 days and x opposition arises and they put him on x the Shelf x in Tarsus x to protect him x and the clock begins ticking x and I think it was three years that he x was in Tarsus x and now there arises this controversy x that we had talked about earlier x now not in Jerusalem but this x controversy at the Ecclesia in Antioch x where there are not Jews who are x receiving Jesus as their lord and being x baptized into his name but there are x Greeks x there are non-circumcised x you know x non-israe Israelites who are entering x into the body of Christ x and what happens x the mentor the son of encouragement x Barnabas says I know x let's find x Paul x let's get Paul to help us x and that's what we're going to read x about next so um turn to acts 11 we're x going to look at the 22nd verse x so Barnabas has you know concluded that x it is appropriate for these Greeks to x receive the the calling that they have x been called by God they're receiving the x Holy Spirit gifts that is that is x entirely appropriate for them to be x baptized into the one body x and it says news of this reached the x ears of the church in Jerusalem and they x sent Barnabas to Antioch we've talked x about this now what happens next verse x 25. x then Barnabas went to Tarsus x so for these three years Saul's been on x the Shelf x hiding and you know he's been a refugee x you know we think about Muhammad fleeing x from Iran to Turkey x we've got now the Apostle Paul who has x fled x from Antioch to Tarsus x and Barnabas now seeks him out remember x those active verbs that we had talked x about earlier you know he he sought he x sought him out verse 25 he went to x Tarsus to look for Saul and when he x found him x he brought him to Antioch x so for a whole year x Barnabas named first and Saul met with x the church and taught great numbers of x people and the disciples were called x Christians first at Antioch x and this brothers and sisters is how x mentorship works x Barnabas seeks one who had great x knowledge of the Jewish scriptures x but now begins to teach this man x spiritual lessons that were taught by x the Lord Jesus x about giving you know when you think x about how Paul was concerned about the x poor in Jerusalem you think about all of x the things that Paul wrote about in like x second Corinthians where did he learn x that x he must have learned that from Barnes x who sold the field and delivered the x proceeds to support those who are in x need these were examples of mentorship x that Barnabas had x over Paul x and I think there's a great lesson there x for us within our ecclesions you know x one of the things that I you know just x recently I think we've seen some great x examples of it here in Boston you know x where we have brother Josh Sullivan last x week give just a terrific Bible class on x him he's a young brother who has been x entrusted with the responsibility of x leading a class before that we had Gabe x Lloyd give a great exhortation on you x know spiritual athletes x um I I remember personally I think I've x told a few of you this but when I was a x young man brother Jeff Wallace was the x Sunday school superintendent in Boston x and he tapped me on the shoulder and x said Steve I put you on the calendar to x lead the adult Sunday School in the book x of Ezra x and I was like shocked I was like me x what are you kidding me I can't do that x and Jeff sought me out I think the way x Barnabas sought out Paul x and and I think that's what a mentor x ought to be doing it's not just waiting x for a young brother or a young sister to x say hey can I ask you a question Uncle x Steve Uncle Chris you know can you give x me some guidance x it's about taking the initiative it's x about seeking those who are in a x position that have you know some promise x who have you know and building them up x into a position where they can be you x know they can carry the torch for the x Next Generation x and I think that Barnabas gave an x example of that x um the next thing we're going to look at x we're we're at 8 20. so we'll conclude x in a few minutes but the next thing x we're going to look at when we think x about this relation this Mentor mentee x relationship x is is x um not only does Barnabas seek out Paul x but now after they've been together x Barnabas x was willing x to suppress his need to be the leader x think about that x you've got a man x who has this Sterling reputation in the x Ecclesia x he's sort of you know in today's x vernacular the big name speaker x who goes to all the Bible schools or who x you know x it's it's Barnabas and an underling you x know in all the descriptions x and now they are on this missionary trip x together x and Barnabas gave x Paul x the responsibility x to actually speak x he gave Paul the opportunity to learn x how to use these holy spirit gifts x that he had been bestowed x let's take a look at Acts chapter 13. x so Barnabas and Saul have set off on x this missionary journey and they reach x this point where there is opposition to x them x we're going to look at verse 9. x then Saul who was called Paul or in Acts x 13 verse 9 then then Saul who was also x called Paul filled with the Holy Spirit x looked straight at elimus and said x you're a child of the devil and an enemy x of everything that's right you're full x of all kinds of Deceit and trickery x you'll never stop perverting the right x ways of the Lord now the hand of the x Lord is against you you're going to be x blind and for time will be unable to see x the light of sun and immediately you x know so we see Paul now when con Paul x and Barnabas are together they're x confronted by this sorcerer who is x opposing their preaching and Barnabas x like backs on x and Barnabas x says to his mentee in essence x you handle it x he was willing to step back and let his x mentee grow and develop and I think x that's that's that's the mark really x of a good Mentor mentee relationship x now I want to end x by talking about x the the sort of the sad ending x uh between you know in this relationship x between Barnabas and Paul and it comes x in Acts chapter 15. x Acts chapter 15 of course is the x Jerusalem conference this is another x controversy that has enveloped the early x ecclesias x and this controversy is is whether x the the Greek converts x need to be circumcised x and so Barnabas and Paul are together x and they they have this Jerusalem x conference x but then we come down towards the end of x the chapter x and it says in verse 36 x sometime later x Paul said to Barnabas now note the x change now it's no longer Barnabas and x Paul it's as though the mentee and the x mentor have an an equal relationship x you know if if Paul was still the mentee x he wouldn't feel x it appropriate I think to have sort of x this public disagreement with his Elder x but he had groan and because he had x grown x um x he was able to have this sort of con you x know it was a conflict x so it says um sometime later Paul said x to Barnabas let's go back and visit the x brothers in all the towns where we x preached the word of the Lord and see x how they're doing x so let's go back on our first missionary x trip go back to those early occlesias x that have been formed and build them up x you're the son of encouragement x and Barnabas wanted to take John also x called Mark with them x now the backstory here brothers and x sisters is on the first missionary x journey John Mark x sort of bailed x he pulled the plug x and Paul didn't feel that he could rely x on Mark on John Mark x didn't feel that it would be appropriate x to bring him along because he couldn't x be trusted or entrusted with such an x important responsibility of building up x the Ecclesia if he was going to bail x again x but think about this x Barnabas was a mentor at heart x and Barnabas now has seen the growth of x Saul x and has seen how Saul has become his x equal and maybe is greater in terms of x preaching the gospel message x and Barnabas then turns his attention x to build up another man x he sees x how Mark x has struggled x how he's made errors in his walk in x faith x and instead of giving up on Mark x Barnabas pours his heart into this man x it says that x Barnabas wanted to take John also called x Mark with them but Paul did not think it x wise to take him because he had deserted x them in pamphilia x and did not continued the work in the x work x says in verse 39 that they had such a x sharp disagreement that they parted x company x Barnabas took mark x and sailed for Cyprus x but Paul chose Silas and left commended x by the brothers to the grace of the Lord x so we end our class tonight looking at x now not one but two mentors x we see Barnabas mentoring John Mark x and we see Paul mentoring Silas x now the scriptures x don't record any more details about x Barnabas x and it's therefore easy for us to think x that Barnabas has somehow fallen from x faith x that this disagreement was such that he x just couldn't handle it or that he is x expunged from the history of the uh of x the Bible because of this disagreement x but my thoughts on this brother are just x the opposite x I think that x Barnabas put his heart into John Mark x the way he put his heart into Saul x and at the end of his life x the Apostle Paul x was able to ask for Mark who would be x good in his service x do you remember that I I don't have the x note written down I think it's in x Colossians that uh that Paul makes that x reference x and so while we don't see x Barnabas mentioned again x we see the effects of his mentorship on x Mark x and it's through mark x that we had the first gospel x and it's through Mark that we had this x man coming to Paul's side at the end of x his life when he was an old man x and so my concluding thought is that x this man was a son of encouragement to x the end of his life x and that we brothers and sisters should x follow in his footsteps and seek out x those who we might build up and x encourage just as he did